Cooking with Alison

Archive for the ‘Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks’ Category

, , , , ,

Bacon Jam Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on December 16, 2010 at pm

When I first heard the concept of bacon jam, I thought it might be an odd fusion of flavour and texture, but I was excited to try it nonetheless.  I was not prepared for how delicious it would be and how often I would need to make it.  This bacon jam is hearty with bits of bacon but spreadable like jam.  It tastes deliciously smoky with an amazing undercurrent of sweetness.  Even your home will smell like sweet bacon.  :)   Although it takes 2 hours to make, it is incredibly easy to make.  This would make the perfect hostess gift, holiday present, care package addition, or pot luck item.

Over the holidays, I served this to my family and Ed for breakfast with toasted english muffins, fried eggs, and tomato wedges.  My dad, like I, was surprised at how much he liked it.  Ed and my sister were fighting for the last of it and I received requests to make more very soon.

I eat this on baguette slices (ie. crostini) or right out of the jar with a spoon.  Some more creative uses for bacon jam include: putting it on burgers, sandwiches, or grilled cheese; serving it on toast with a fried egg; using it as a base for vinaigrette or adding it to salads; adding it to baked brie or camembert;  or using it in a brussel sprouts dish (ideas came from this website).  Please post your ideas in a comment here!

Note that many bacon jam recipes have a bit of heat to them.  I prefer to leave this out, but you could add hot peppers or any hot sauce that you like.  Add this to the pot at the same time as the rest of the ingredients.

Read the rest of this entry »

, , , , ,

Cilantro Lime Hummus Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on December 7, 2010 at am

I love the freshness that you get from adding herbs to hummus.  I usually add a little bit of parsley and/or dill to my plain hummus.  But in this variation, the dominant flavour comes from one of my favourite herbs – cilantro.  I made this for my birthday party and people really liked it.  (See my sun dried tomato hummus recipe here.)

Read the rest of this entry »

, , , , ,

Sun Dried Tomato Hummus Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on December 1, 2010 at am

It’s easy to create different variations of hummus.  For example, you could use carmelized onions, curry powder, roasted red peppers, edamame beans, beets, pumpkin, etc.  Here is my recipe for sun dried tomato hummus.  (See my cilantro lime hummus recipe here.)

Read the rest of this entry »

, , ,

Favourite Chicken or Turkey Pot Pie Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Poultry on November 8, 2010 at am

I have been making pot pies for years and it is still one of the dishes that Ed requests the most.  I’ve made family style pot pie, individual pot pies and even miniature pot pies (second photo below) for pot lucks and parties.  This is a very forgiving recipe.  You could use half and half instead of cream, and you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand.  This is a great way to use up left over turkey because you can freeze the pot pies and then bake them from frozen.

If you’re short on time, here are 2 shortcuts:

  • instead of blanching vegetables in a separate step, cook all of the vegetables together with the onions in the first step, prior to adding the flour
  • use store bought puff pastry

Read the rest of this entry »

, , ,

Sockeye Salmon Cream Cheese Spread

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on October 2, 2010 at am

My entire extended family loves canned sockeye salmon and has been eating it for decades.  But I never appreciated it until a few years ago when my sister mixed it with cream cheese.  The ratio of salmon to cream cheese is important to achieve the perfect balance of fish and creaminess.  I like adding just enough cream cheese to soften the fishiness without masking its unique flavour.  In my opinion, if you can easily make out the taste of cream cheese, you’ve added too much.  Sockeye salmon is very flavourful so I like to keep the ingredients simple and fresh, and I don’t add salt.  If you’re tired of tuna salad (recipe here), give this a try.  It’s great in sandwiches or served as a spread for crackers.

Note: If you’ve never used canned sockeye salmon before, don’t be alarmed if you see fish skin and bones.  The bones are soft enough that they are edible (and they’re actually good for you).

Read the rest of this entry »

, ,

Smoked Salmon and Lemon Mascarpone Crostini

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on September 19, 2010 at pm

I recreated my favourite appetizer from a local restaurant (Kingston, ON).  Ed and I may be a bit biased, but we like my version better.  That’s probably because I was able to use my favourite brand of smoked salmon.  Of all of the pre-packaged smoked salmon brands that I’ve tried (and I have tried many), Norwegian Fjord’s Smoked Norwegian Steelhead Salmon is my favourite.  I have only ever seen this brand at Costco.  I’ve made these for parties and pot lucks and they never last long.  They are extremely easy to make.

Notes:  I highly recommend that you make the pickled red onions.  They add the most pleasant sweetness (surprise!) and texture to this crostini.  Smoked salmon is more commonly served with capers.  Capers would also enhance the visual appeal of crostini.  However, I usually leave them off because they add too much sodium to the already salty salmon for my taste (and health).

Read the rest of this entry »

, , ,

Pickled Red Onions Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on September 18, 2010 at pm

I love the addition of pickled red onions to smoked salmon. They are very easy to make and can be used as a condiment for all sorts of things.  What I love about this recipe is the balance of sweet and sour.  You don’t really notice the sweetness of the onions until you pair them with lemon juice on a smoked salmon crostini, for example.  Then you get a really nice, crisp, and refreshing surprise.

Read the rest of this entry »

, , , ,

Herbed Goat Cheese

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on September 10, 2010 at pm

I had a variety of fresh herbs left over from making herbed focaccia, so I bought a small log of goat cheese, covered it with herbs, and enjoyed it warm with grilled vegetables.  Crumble it and use it in recipes the way you would with plain goat cheese.  When entertaining, this makes an elegant spread for crackers and it makes a great addition to any cheese platter. Read the rest of this entry »

, , ,

Gambas al Ajillo (Shrimp with Garlic)

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on August 7, 2010 at pm

Gambas al ajillo, or shrimp with garlic, is a Spanish tapas (ie. appetizer).  I first tried it in a popular local restaurant years ago.  It’s garlicky and spicy, and so simple to make at home.  The first time Ed tried it, he liked it so much that I made it for him two days in a row.  I’ve re-created the dish that’s served at Chez Piggy, Kingston, ON, but I doubt it’s very authentic.  At the restaurant, they serve this sizzling on a hot plate but I use my small cast iron pan instead.

On a side note, I find Chez Piggy to be extremely over rated and over priced.  I never go on my own accord.  This is one of the few things that I like on their menu but they tend to overcook the shrimp and they charge $11 for 6 shrimp.  It only cost me $2 to make this at home.  (I got a bag of President’s Choice frozen large shrimp for just $5 on sale.)
 Read the rest of this entry »

, , , , ,

Guacamole and Avocado Salsa

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on August 1, 2010 at pm

I am in love with avocados.  When it comes to guacamole, I prefer the texture of roughly mashed avocados, so I use an S-shaped potato masher.  A fork works well too; or you could use a large mortar and pestle like Chef Bobby Flay.  For a slight variation, serve this as an “avocado salsa” by Not mashing the avocado pieces and cutting the roma tomatoes into slightly larger pieces (or halve cherry tomatoes instead).  Guacamole is pictured above.

Read the rest of this entry »

, , , ,

Ricotta and Tomato on Toast

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on July 29, 2010 at pm

I had some ricotta cheese leftover from making wild mushroom ravioli (recipe here) and lemon ricotta muffins (recipe here).  But I didn’t really have enough to make anything else, so I made Ricotta and Tomato on Toast.  This is a lovely and fresh summer snack.

Toast any bread that you like (ie. crusty bread or rye).  Spread the ricotta on the toast and top it with thin tomato slices, a pinch of coarse salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.  Infused olive oils are great for this, ie. garlic, herb, or lemon.  Use your favourite variety of tomato.

I liked this so much that I plan to turn it into a beautiful (and easy) party appetizer – Ricotta and Tomato Crostini.  Top toasted baguette slices with halved or sliced cherry tomatoes (try combining red and yellow cherry tomatoes), and some baby arugula (placed underneath the tomatoes) or fresh basil (finely chopped for garnish).  

, , , ,

Cheese Ball Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on June 13, 2010 at pm

I needed to make a quick and easy snack for a weeknight because I was having some girls over for a clothing exchange party.  I was already making hummus, deep fried ravioli and fudge brownies and decided that I was missing cheese.  Instead of doing the standard cheese platter, I thought I’d try making a cheese ball, because I already had most of the ingredients that I needed.  It’s a nice, flavourful cheese spread.

Read the rest of this entry »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 165 other followers